The Ultimate Wingsuit Flying Quiz

Wingsuit flying is one of the most extreme of the extreme sports. Only skydivers with a great deal of experience can become wingsuit flyers. Take this quiz to learn more about soaring like a bird in your own wingsuit.

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Question 1 of 20

It's a flying squirrel, it's a snow angel, it's a:

wingsuit

The wingsuit looks like a cross between a flying squirrel and a snow angel.

paraglider

parachutist

Question 2 of 20

How do wingsuit flyers achieve sufficient altitude for flying?

jump from a high precipice

jump out of a plane

Wingsuit flyers must jump out of a plane or from a high precipice.

both answers

Question 3 of 20

What must wingsuit flyers use to ensure a safe landing?

GPS

parachute

Wingsuit flyers must deploy a parachute in order to land.

gliding system

Question 4 of 20

What is the advantage of wingsuit flying over skydiving?

aerial acrobatics

Wingsuit flyers can perform more aerial acrobatics, because they descend at a rate much slower than skydivers.

faster descents

less dangerous

Question 5 of 20

What pulls a flying object downward?

lift

weight

Weight pulls flying objects downward.

thrust

Question 6 of 20

What affects horizontal movement?

thrust

Thrust propels and drag retards horizontal movement.

lift

weight

Question 7 of 20

What creates thrust for birds?

flapping of wings

The flapping of a bird's wings creates the thrust.

open wing position

neither answer

Question 8 of 20

How much does a wingsuit cost?

$250

$600

$1,200

A wingsuit costs around $1,200. Some cost much more.

Question 9 of 20

Why do wingsuiters need a parachute to land?

not enough lift

The wingsuit cannot provide enough lift for a safe landing.

not enough weight

both answers

Question 10 of 20

How many traditional skydive jumps are required to become a wingsuit flyer?

100

200

You must have completed 200 traditional skydive jumps with an instructor in the past 18 months.

500

Question 11 of 20

Upon exiting the airplane, what stance does the wingsuit flyer assume?

spread arms and legs

roll into a ball

Upon exiting the plane, the wingsuit flyer must curl up; once he starts falling he spreads arms and legs wide.

spread arms and legs pressed together

Question 12 of 20

When was the first parachute jump from a plane?

1912

The first jump in 1912 came only nine years after the Wright brothers' first successful flight.

1930

1956

Question 13 of 20

Of the original 75 wingsuit-jumping pioneers, how many perished?

65

70

72

Between 1930 and 1961, 72 birdmen died while testing new winged designs.

Question 14 of 20

Who has the record for the longest wingsuit flight?

Ueli Gegenschatz

Jhonathan Florez

Colombia's Jhonathan Florez holds the record at 9 minutes, 6 seconds, to the Guinness Book of Records.

Patrick De Gayardon

Question 15 of 20

When did wingsuits first become available for commercial use?

1965

1998

Wingsuits were brought on the market in 1998.

2005

Question 16 of 20

How long was the longest recorded wingsuit flight?

11 miles

15 miles

16 miles

Jhonathan Florez holds this record too. On the same 2012 flight where he broke the record for longest wingsuit flight, he also set a record for greatest horizontal distance at 16.315 miles.

Question 17 of 20

How do flyers slow descent and decrease forward movement?

increase lift

To slow descent and forward movement, flyers must create as much surface area as possible to increase lift.

decrease lift

neither answer

Question 18 of 20

What wingsuit design advancement resulted in the United States Parachute Association lifting the ban on wingsuit flying?

webbed wing surfaces

The innovation of augmenting skydiving suits with webbed wing surfaces resulted in the UAPA lifting the ban.

canvas wing structures

steel construction

Question 19 of 20

What may large movements by wingsuit flyers cause?

dive

spin

both answers

Large movements by wingsuit flyers can cause a dive or spin.

Question 20 of 20

What is an airfoil?

a surface that can provide lift

created by the wingsuit flyer's whole body

both answers

An airfoil is a surface, such as a wing, that can provide lift. In wingsuit flying, the whole body of the flyer becomes an airfoil.